Chapter 16
Ricochet
We watched as Lockout walked across the parking lot toward us. “That’s my president.”
She frowned first at Lockout, then looked up at me. “President?”
Damn. I had a lot I needed to explain to her. I probably should have done it before we came out here.
“Do I call him Sir, or something?” she asked.
Barking out a laugh, I shook my head. “He’s the president of our motorcycle club. You’re not in the club, so you can just call him Lockout. As an old lady there are certain rules you follow, but it’s not the same as being a member.”
She opened her mouth to say something, but Lock reached us by that point, so she snapped her mouth shut.
I was pretty sure she was going to say something about not being an old lady.
I knew she thought that, but in my mind, she already was.
I was only going along with this plan of hers so that she’d feel comfortable.
“Damn, Brother. I haven’t heard you laugh like that in a while.” Lockout grinned at me. “We must have you to thank” he said, shooting Jordan a softer smile.
One side of my mouth tipped up into an answering grin. Very slowly small pieces of myself were returning. That didn’t mean that everything was fixed. I was still beyond fucked up, but it felt damn good to be myself again, even if it was only for minutes at a time.
“Lock, this is my…” Jordan shot me a narrow eyed look, “Jordan,” I amended.
Lock’s grin only got bigger. “Nice to meet you, Jordan.” He reached out and shook her hand.
“It’s nice to meet you, too, Lockout.” She licked her lips, her tell that she was nervous, and gave him a questioning look. “What does that mean? Lockout?”
He chuckled. “It’s a flight term. In a helicopter you can override the engine power controls, making them go uncontrollably to full power. It’s called putting the engine into ‘lockout’.”
She blinked at him, trying to figure out why that would be his road name.
She didn’t know him well enough to know this man lived his life in that red zone.
He was always pushing himself, striving to be the best, to provide those he loved with everything they needed.
He pushed himself to the limits in every aspect of his life. His road name fit him perfectly.
Someone called out to him and he glanced over his shoulder. “Hey, I have to go deal with something,” he told me. “I’ll find you later. Catch up.”
“Sounds good.”
We watched as he walked away, heading over toward a group standing near the bar.
He was strolling like he had all the time in the world, but I could see the rigidness in his back.
Whatever he was about to handle had him on edge.
Priest met him halfway and together they walked over to rest of the men.
“Welcome back, Kid.”
I glanced over and grinned as Hush walked up. The older man reached out and as soon as his hand was on my shoulder he yanked me in for a hug. His hand pounded on my back, making me wince, but I returned the favor. “Glad to be back, Hush.”
“See you have a friend.” He let me go and held out a meaty paw for Jordan to shake.
“Jordan, this is Hush. Another one of my MC brothers.”
“Isn’t everyone here one of your brothers?” she asked.
We both laughed at that. “Not this time,” I told her. “Looks like Lockout invited a few of the weekender clubs out to celebrate.”
“Weekender?”
“They’re a formed club, but they don’t really live the lifestyle. They ride on the weekends and have their own type of brotherhood,” Hush explained.
“How does your lifestyle differ?” she asked, looking between us.
Hush gave me a curious look and I shook my head.
I hadn’t explained it all to her yet. I planned to.
It just wasn’t something we did until we were sure the woman was going to stick around.
We didn’t need a bunch of people knowing our business.
I knew Jordan was the one, but wasn’t positive she wasn’t going to run in the opposite direction yet.
“We’re more dedicated,” is all I said by way of explanation.
“Why don’t you come meet the other old ladies?” I asked, putting an arm around her and using pressure on the small of her back to steer her.
Hush fell into step beside me. He arched his brow. “Other old ladies, huh?”
“Not now, Hush,” I muttered.
He shut his trap, something Hush excelled at, and I was grateful for it. Jordan and I were in this weird limbo for the moment, and I didn’t want to freak her out. It was hard enough getting past her defenses as it was. I didn’t need to make it more difficult on myself.
“Ricochet!” Seek struggled to shove to her feet from where she’d been sitting in the grass.
At almost five months pregnant her belly was gently rounded now and seemed to be getting in the way just enough that it was hard for her to get off the ground.
Hush stepped over and helped haul her to her feet.
She popped a kiss on his lips, then hurried over to me.
Well, not so much of a hurry as waddling enthusiastically.
Though I’d never utter those words to her.
I caught her in a hug, careful not to bump her stomach.
Looking over her shoulder, I saw Jenny jumping to her feet as well and waiting for her turn at a hug.
These women were simply amazing. My brothers were lucky to have them and I had to admit that, prior to Jordan, they were the only blips of light in my otherwise darkened world.
“Quit hogging him, Seek,” Jenny said with a laugh.
She didn’t get a chance at her hug. “Uncle Ricochet!” Four little tornados blasted through the crowd of people and latched onto my legs.
Laughing, I lifted Caitlyn and Cassie up, one in each arm.
They wrapped their own arms around my neck while Taylor and Gabby kept hugging my waist. “I missed you four. How was Washington?” A quick glance over showed Jordan standing there with an incredulous look on her face.
So far she’d only seen me with my sister and her kids.
Little did she know I fucking loved kids. I was damn good with them, too.
“It was good. The wedding was so beautiful,” Gabby replied. As the oldest—she’d just turned ten—she was starting to get to the age where she was noticing boys. It was all of our biggest nightmares, but none so much as Priest, I was sure. I shared a grin with her step-mom, Jenny.
“Uncle Butcher fell into the ocean,” Cassie said, covering her mouth as she giggled.
“That doesn’t surprise me in the least.”
“Hey now, tell the truth,” Butcher grumped as he walked up. He gave Cassie a mock glare. “I didn’t fall into the ocean. You and these three other hellions pushed me. Thanks a lot,” he muttered at Toxic.
“It wasn’t my idea,” his friend said with a wry grin. “They came up with that all on their own.”
“And you helped them execute,” Butcher told him.
“Well, yeah. We have to do our part to make sure they’re equipped to handle whatever comes their way in the future.”
“Uncle Ricochet,” Caitlyn said, tugging on my cut to get my attention. Her voice was soft, and a little hesitant. She was still getting used to being here with all of us and the chaos that came with living with a bunch of outlaws.
“Yeah, Sweetie?”
“Can I see your necklace?”
The shadows crowded in as her sweet voice asked about the only reminder I had of Jack. The adults crowded near went quiet at her request. Jordan’s brows drew together and the smile she’d been wearing slipped off her face as she tried to understand the sudden shift in energy.
“I’m so sorry,” Jenny said, coming over, arms out to take Caitlyn from me.
I handed Cassie to her instead, and used my free hand to dig the dog tags out from underneath my shirt. I dropped the chain over Caitlyn’s head. “It’s fine,” I told Jenny with a quick twitch of my lips. It was the only comfort I could offer. “She’s fine.”
Caitlyn played with the double set of dog tags and smiled up at me, unaware of the unease she’d caused.
Everyone around me was watching to see how I’d handle things.
My own fault because in the past this was when I’d distance myself from the group.
I had to quit doing that. This was my family.
I wasn’t about to let her innocent question backfire on her, or ruin anyone's day.
Glancing at Jordan, I knew I could handle it.
“Do you want to wear them for a while?” I asked, eyeing the chain that held both my and Jack’s tags.
Her smile was bright. I set her down and watched as Seek’s dogs came over to investigate.
Jecht did a flyby, licking Caitlyn’s face as he ran through, making everyone laugh.
Kids and dogs were great for breaking the ice.
Auron, the older dog, leaned against my thigh, instinctively offering comfort.
Scratching his head, I listened as the others all started relaying how the wedding went.
People came and went as we talked and I introduced Jordan to most of them. I knew her head had to be spinning by now with all the names and faces, but she took it all in stride. She greeted everyone with a warm smile, and she was already getting along great with Seek and Jenny.
“Where are the other girls?” I asked.
“On their way. Daisha and Tori had to work today and Kit was still sleeping since she worked the late shift at the bar last night. Susie had to run home to change Dex’s clothes.”
Which explained where Smoke was. He and Kit both worked at The Bunker, for the club.
Kit loved being a bartender, so her brother insisted she work where he could keep an eye on her.
At some point she’d given up arguing with him about being over protective.
You’d think he’d realize a woman raised in this life could easily take care of herself.
She knew exactly how to handle bikers with bad attitudes.
My name drifted over the din of the music. Lockout motioned for me. “You good here for a few minutes?” I asked Jordan.
“She’ll be fine here with us,” Seek insisted, rubbing a hand over her belly.
“Yeah, go away so we can get to know your girl,” Jenny told me with a smile.
Jordan just laughed and nodded in response to my question. She looked relaxed and happy, falling into conversation with the other two women. The kids had abandoned the adults and were running around with some of the other children who’d been brought to the barbecue.
Butcher and Toxic fell into step with me. I saw my brothers all start gathering around our president. My instincts went on full alert even though I wasn’t sure what was going on. Maybe because I didn’t know what was going on.
We passed the other women as they finally got to the barbecue.
Susie, Tori, Daisha, and Kit all met and gave each other hugs in the parking lot, then bee-lined for their friends.
This was what every biker hoped for, that their old ladies would become the best of friends, and so far all my brothers who had women had gotten their wish.
“You two know what’s going on?” I asked, turning my attention back to the meeting that seemed to be happening next to the bar.
“Nope,” Toxic said, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets. Butcher just shook his head.
Priest handed me a beer as I walked up, then reached down into a cooler that was next to his feet and did the same for Toxic and Butcher. I opened the bottle and took a swig to wet my suddenly dry throat. Everyone was staring at me.